Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead rise again on television

LOS ANGELES - When Bruce Campbell made “The Evil Dead” in 1981, his bumbling, chainsaw-armed character Ash soon became a cult icon figure.

The successful horror classic spawned “Evil Dead II” and a third film “Army of Darkness”, cementing director Sam Raimi’s place in Hollywood.

Now Raimi and Campbell are back for the television series “Ash vs Evil Dead” which picks up where “Army of Darkness” left off -- although for UK fans the third film had an alternative ending.

“Nothing’s changed playing Ash,” Campbell at the series’ premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre on Wednesday.

“He’s the same moron he always was but it’s great to come back and play him when I have more acting experience now. I can fix him. I can make Ash better, I can retool him, I can make him talk, I can make him into a proper citizen so expect the unexpected with Ash.”

“Ash vs Evil Dead”, which also co-stars Lucy Lawless, Ray Santiago, Dana DeLorenzo and Jill Marie Jones premieres on Starz on October 31. The network has already announced it is commissioning the show for a second season.